.. l’art pour l’art

'He had, finally, been a little too cruel and he felt stricken at the hurt on her young face. She understood that he was telling her that he hadn’t tried too hard. He had taken the sweetness of her victory away from her. Now she would feel that it had been her lack of charm or attractiveness that had made her the victor this night. And being the girl she was, when she told the story of how she resisted the great J F, she would always have to add with a wry little smile, “Of course, he didn’t try very hard.” So now taking pity on her, he said, “If you ever feel real down, give me a ring. OK? I don’t have to shack up every girl I know.”' 'H’s face suddenly became smoothly impassive. Then he said, “OK, I’ll keep this purely business.”' '“The trouble is all that trash in the movies and the newspapers,” M said. “You’ve got the wrong idea of the C Family. I’ll make a final explanation and this one will be really final. He is .... a businessman trying to provide for his wife and children and those friends he might need someday in a time of trouble. He doesn’t accept the rules of the society we live in because those rules would have condemned him to a life not suitable to a man like himself, a man of extraordinary force and character. What you have to understand is that he considers himself the equal of all those great men like Presidents and Prime Ministers and Supreme Court Justices and Governors of the States. He refuses to live by rules set up by others, rules which condemn him to a defeated life. But his ultimate aim is to enter that society with a certain power since society doesn’t really protect its members who do not have their own individual power. In the meantime he operates on a code of ethics he considers far superior to the legal structures of society.”' 'Show biz, docs, you gotta have heart' '“Do you think this is the first time I’ve had to talk to people like you in a situation like this?” J said. “I did it every day. L says don’t be so tough, but she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. You know, I used to tell people, “Don’t eat too much or you’ll die, don’t smoke so much or you’ll die, don’t work so much or you’ll die, don’t drink so much or you’ll die.’ Nobody listens. You know why? Because I don’t say, `You will die tomorrow.’ Well, I can tell you that N may very well die tomorrow.”'